As Thomas stirred the next morning he felt a soft breeze blowing through the barn boards. He stretched and curled onto his side, extremely satisfied with his comfort and content to stay right where he was.

That comfort was made even better when he felt soft kisses on his arm. He wasn't yet awake enough to even comprehend where he was or who might be delivering those kisses, but it all seemed very nice and he wasn't in any hurry to return to full consciousness and spoil the moment with such a thing as reality.

That is, until one of those soft kisses was replaced by a rather firm bite.

"Ahh!" Thomas cried out, wide awake now as he swiftly sat up. Pushing away his sleeve, he began to nurse the bite as a startled goat jumped backward.

"Git down here Chester!" Luke exclaimed, having climbed the slanted loft ladder and swinging an arm through the air as he attempted to catch the wayward goat. Dodging his arm, Chester ran toward the end of the loft as the Duke boy chased him. Successfully dodging Luke again, Chester located a route of escape and quickly made his way back down the ladder.

Luke ran over to the ladder and watched as the goat joined the others in fighting the chickens for the feed that had been scattered on the ground for all of them. "Sorry about that." Luke apologized.. " Chester's only able to get up here when we put up that slanted ladder. Makes storin' the hay easier."

"I reckon I've been through worse." Thomas replied, wincing as he pushed his sleeve back down and noticed a few frayed sections courtesy of goat teeth.

"'Fraid we haven't met yet." Luke added, moving forward to shake Thomas' hand. "I'm Luke Duke. I was down in Atlanta yesterday and didn't get back 'till everybody was settled in."

"Thomas Vineyard." Thomas replied. "I'm Tommy's dad."

"Yeah I know." Luke smiled. "He's quite a kid. We've sort of adopted him, ya know. Heck, he's here so much you'd think this was his second home."

"He could do a lot worse far as homes are concerned." Thomas commented approvingly, breathing in the fresh country air as he observed the sun rising over the mountain, coaxing open wild pink and purple morning glories whose vines were wound around corn stalks throughout the field.

"Well we sure like it. Breakfast will be ready in a few minutes if you want to come on down."

"Thanks Luke. Glad to have met you."

"Likewise." Luke replied, climbing back down the loft ladder before he ushered the goats back to their pen, allowing the chickens to pick at the leftover feed.

After a few more minutes of stretching Thomas put his shoes and socks back on and climbed down the loft ladder, brushing bits of straw from his shirt as he wound his way through the hungry chickens.

"Mornin' Thomas." Jesse sang out from his place at the kitchen table as his new farm hand entered the house. A chorus of greetings echoed his as the cousins offered their own.

"Mornin' everybody." Thomas replied, unable to keep from gazing at Jesse a little longer than would be expected.

"Did you sleep well Thomas?" Daisy asked, giving the handsome perfect stranger a gaze of her own as well as a winning smile. As Thomas returned the gesture, Luke elbowed Bo and nodded before the boys shared knowing grins.

"Like a baby, Miss Daisy." He replied, taking the remaining empty seat at the table. "I ought to bring Tommy up one night, bet he'd like that."

"Yeah, I bet he would." Daisy replied, never breaking her concentration.

Uncle Jesse then cleared his throat, signifying that the mealtime prayer was about to begin. It was enough to lull Daisy back to reality as everyone folded their hands and bowed their heads.

"Well now Thomas." Jesse began after the prayer was over and everybody began to help themselves. "What kind of plans do you and Tommy have for today?"

"None, I'm afraid." Thomas admitted. "When I talked to him yesterday he was quick to make it clear that even his old man wouldn't come between him and that birdhouse he was supposed to be makin' today."

"Oh yeah, the birdhouses." Bo remembered. "Do you know he was the one that actually got that project goin'? There's a couple of blue jays that seem to have taken to the tree outside his cabin window and he's convinced that if he builds 'em a house, they'll move in. The four of us here spent the whole weekend cuttin' up the wood for those kids."

"Ah." Thomas acknowledged him. "Oh, it's just as well anyway. Wouldn't feel right stayin' here and eatin' your food without doin' a little work."

"Well it wouldn't feel right for us to have you puttin' work ahead of your son either." Jesse said. "But seein' how you ain't, maybe you can be the one to help me clear that old maple tree that fell in the field durin' the last storm. That'll free up you boys to go on and see about gettin' signed up for that Hatchapee race."

"And today's the deadline." Bo grinned, happy to be signing up for a race they had thought would have to be missed due to the upcoming workload at the farm. Thanks to the arrival of Thomas, though, that burden had been eased.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

It had been a good day, at least for Thomas. Oh there had been plenty of work to do and none of it very easy, but the air could almost be considered cool and the company pleasant.

He and Jesse had shared a lot of small talk as they cleared that tree, their careless conversation interrupted occasionally when Jesse took it upon himself to scold Thomas for doing what the older man considered too much. More than once Jesse had picked up a heavy branch to throw in the back of his truck only to have Thomas promptly remove it from his arms and toss it in himself, commenting on how Jesse shouldn't be lifting such heavy objects. This was in addition to all the branches he himself was lifting and tossing.

With all that Thomas was doing Jesse almost felt useless being out there, yet he refused to put the responsibility of clearing a whole tree away on a lone farm hand, especially one who wasn't even accepting cash. Which is why after a day filled with the rather boring task of clearing away small limbs he was rather glad when Thomas, finding the trunk of the tree too thick for the chainsaw, requested Jesse's assistance with the crosscut saw.

Soon the two men stood on opposite sides of the tree, a foot firmly planted on the trunk as they pushed and pulled the saw like a perfectly synchronized team.

"Right now I'm kinda glad Tommy ain't here." Jesse commented between labored puffs of breath. "That boy of yours likes to try everything and gets plumb mad if he ain't able. I guarantee you he'd be sittin' there sulkin' right now 'bout not bein' able to try out this saw."

"I agree with you there." Thomas replied as they continued to saw. "Kid would fly if he could."

"Well…..Bo kinda fulfilled that wish for him." Jesse managed to grin even as he began to sweat. 'Course they's in the General Lee at the time."

"No explanation needed. I've read so much about the General Lee in Tommy's letters I feel like I know it inside and out." Thomas puffed out his cheeks. "I'm just glad that you all have took to him like ya have, makes life a lot more fun. Dang, but I wish that kid didn't have to be in a wheelchair."

"Well, I suppose it could all be worse." Jesse replied.

"Yeah…..we might not even have him." Thomas drifted off, realizing this was a perfect lead in for the conversation he wanted to have with Jesse. "Um, it must be hard for you, never getting a chance to know your boy."

Jesse shook his head in confusion. "I know my boys real good."

"I don't mean Bo and Luke. I meant the other boy. Your son."

"Oh." Jesse replied, slowing the saw as he drifted off into thought, but continuing to saw all the same.

"You said he………he died as soon as he was born."

Jesse gave a slight nod. "Don't know what was wrong with him exactly. We looked forward to 'im comin' all that time, doctor said everything seemed to be goin' well, then…." He trailed off, shrugging his shoulders. "Guess it just wasn't meant to be."

"Where was he buried?" Thomas asked, even as he imagined Jesse coming back with an abrupt declaration that it was none of his business.

"Up in the family plot close to his mamma." Jesse replied, instinctively looking in the direction of the family cemetery. "They took him straight there from the hospital just after he passed. Wadn't customary back in them days to grieve an infant, folks felt it'd make it harder on tha momma. So from birth here at the house to the time he's took to the hospital 'till the time he's put in the ground, he spent 8, 9 hours here on earth."

"So you didn't even get to hold him?"

"Just got to look over him quick after birthin' him." Jesse shook his head. "I knew somethin' was wrong soon as he's here. Wadn't much time for sentiments when he needed to be took to the hospital."

"So he was alive up until the time you got there?"

Jesse nodded his head. "I never saw him dead. Soon as they took him in……….."

Jesse abruptly stopped what he was saying and replaced the remainder of his thought with a painful groan as he let go of the saw. Abandoning his post, Thomas leapt over the trunk of the tree and saw blood on the blade of the saw, and oozing from Jesse's boot!

Between the saw and the memories, I can't decide which cut deeper.